Day 1 and 2

Here is the view from the El Paso Airport (Juarez, Mexico is directly across the border from El Paso - the Rio Grande is what separates the two) - I was so excited to see the mountains again. I have had moments since moving back East where I truly miss the mountains with all my heart and I want to move back. I yearn for them and this was a bittersweet moment that I might be surrounded by them once again (even if it was for just a week).

Here is a horse (caballo) that lives in the compound. Being from the Northeast United States, it was a shock to see a horse not roaming free in a bright green pasture and have plenty of water. When we went over to visit him, there was no grass (or much hay) and he didn't have any water. But he was friendly and interested in what we might have... KC wanted to see if he was thirsty - It was hilarious to see a horse drink from a bottle! By the way, KC, did you wash that bottle before using it again?

To look at the animals in this environment, it definitely took some getting used to. The horse was healthy, but not to our standards (maybe our animals are a little fat?). The dogs are not pets in the sense that we have pets. They have a job to do here. They are first and foremost, watch dogs (and they make great doorbells, especially at about 3am). The dogs look like a cross between an american breed and a coyote. But it didn't take me long to fall in love with every single one of them (especially LaLa, a mommy that had a litter of puppies the week before we arrived). One of the ladies on our team did not particulary care for the dogs (at all), but by the end of the week, even she held an affection for them (that was really neat to watch).

These 2 pictures are views from the compound where we stayed. I always find it amazing to see the power in a mountain (but also to know that water once flowed above and through the mountains, carving them into the shapes they are today). And the mountains surround the desert. On first glance, the desert looks so empty, so boring and so desolate. But the more time you spend there and the more time you take to really look around - the desert has so many beautiful qualities.

Day 1 was a traveling day... and it went smoothly - pretty much... we got hung up an extra half hour in Houston because of a broken plane part; thankfully, we ended up in a new plane - of course, that plane had an issue too. They taxied us onto the tarmac before determining there was a problem. We went back to the terminal, fixed it and off we went! We had no issues crossing the border into Mexico... or through the military check points.

We met another mission team from Pennsylvania (also staying at the compound) - it is amazing what God can do when He puts His family together from different places! We will connected to them forever now (and I'll show you what they did on another day).

Day 2 - we went to a church in Juarez. Pastor Nacho is the pastor and he also works with Harvest Hands as an interpreter. He played a very critical part in our vacation bible school and while caring for the children.

What was church like? Well... it was all in spanish (remember, neither KC nor I know much spanish)! But what surprised me was they sang quite a few songs in spanish that we sing back home. And I learned right away that language doesn't matter when you are worshipping (but they sure do talk really really fast).

One thing I noticed was that their babies and children are SO beautiful (and ear piercing is very popular)! The children were free to move about the congregation and just be. They weren't disrupting... adults didn't need to reprimand them. They danced and sang when they felt like it, sat when they were tired and went to find their mom or dad when they hadn't seen them in a little while. I silently played with one little girl (she reminded me very much of Cayna). We made faces with each other. Have you ever shook your head no at a child and they shake yes and visa versa? I did that too - she was SO cute!

Myson, the youth pastor from our church, preached the sermon that day. He did a great job. He does speak spanish, so the interpreter translated into english for us. His message dealt with fathers and how important their role is in the lives of their children. At the end, Pastor Nacho called all the men to the alter for prayer. KC observed that normally in the States, a pastor invites people up front for prayer, but Pastor Nacho told the men to come up. He did it in a way that said everyone needs prayer, that is why you are here. Come... and receive it. It was wonderful.

After church, we had fellowship (and food). We ate very tasty burritos. Our fearless leader, Gary (Harvest Hands) sent us to a Mexican bakery (without a translater). Ok... that was funny - we picked out what we wanted (which took a few minutes to hand sign with the ladies in the shop to figure out how to do this) and then she gave us totals for the food. She said 17 and 15... we were thinking dollars! The girl was a little overwhelmed when we handed her the money and said no, no, no - pesos! It really only cost about 2 dollars!

We then spent some time driving around the colonia (or neighborhood) that we would be working with, in and around. At first glance, it was hard to see how destitute and poor the people lived. And the desert really didn't make it any better. The people used ANYTHING to build with. One fence was built completely out of mattress springs. Others used wooden pallets and old wire. They just dumped their tires on the side of the road - I'm surprised they didn't figure out a way to build with the tires.

The evening was left open to get ready for the busy week ahead. And to prepare for the first day of our women's outreach and vacation bible school...